Tummel Bridge Power Station wins Heritage and Restoration Award from British Hydropower Association

A £50 million restoration project to modernise and restore the iconic Tummel Bridge Power Station in the Scottish Highlands has picked up the Heritage and Restoration award at the British Hydropower Association’s annual conference.

Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design and engineering, supported SSE Renewables with the complex modernisation scheme. This involved the replacement of the station’s two original ‘Camel Back’ twin-runner, horizontal Francis hydro turbines with modern and more efficient runner technology. This extended the power station’s working life by at least 40 years and increased its efficiency and generation capacity from 34 Megawatts (MW) to 40 MW.

SSE Renewables contracted Stantec’s teams to look at options to replant the end-of-life mechanical and electrical equipment as well as conduct the detailed civil design works. The plant’s five kilometre aqueduct, classed as a Category A reservoir due to the volume of water it contains, underwent significant maintenance, drainage, leakage, and improvement works supported by specialist reservoir engineers from Stantec. The construction works focused on maintaining the original building footprint and where possible, looked to continue the original internal look of the Category A listed station.

The project resulted in a wealth of information being documented and recorded on the carefully preserved historic building, and the incorporation of the contractor’s as-built 3D models into as-built drawings created a comprehensive and data-rich record of the working station, offering benefits for ongoing maintenance and clean power delivery.

Commenting on the award win, Craig Scott, Stantec’s director of Hydropower and Dams said: “Tummel Power Station has such a rich history, having held exceptionally rare turbines which were the largest of their kind, and being modified with a crane from the 1930’s and even WWII air raid shelters.

“It was incredibly important for our team that we were able to retain and honour its original character, designed around muscular inter-war classicism, despite completely modernising its inner workings. By breathing new life into this asset, rather than rebuilding it, we’ve demonstrated what’s possible when it comes to considered heritage restoration in the hydropower sector. I’d like to thank the BHA for this award and congratulate our client SSE Renewables on another meaningful project that will benefit communities in Scotland.”

Tummel Bridge was reopened formally in September 2024 by Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney MSP.

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